Reviews

3DS Game Reviews

  • Review Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3DS)

    The smash-hit 3DS owners have been waiting for?

    Ever since being announced alongside its Wii U counterpart, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS has been scrutinised by fans around the world to an almost excessive degree. Being the first game in the popular crossover fighting series to be released on a handheld system, there were understandably some...

  • Review Fantasy Life (3DS)

    It’s a wonderful Life

    Fantasy Life, Level-5 and Brownie Brown’s life sim and action RPG, is a game with a long and storied history. Originally announced in Japan for the Nintendo DS/DSi generation of consoles back in 2009, it spent three years in development, seeing a platform upgrade to the Nintendo 3DS, finally releasing in Japan-only on 27th...

  • Review One Piece Unlimited World Red (3DS)

    A pirate's life

    Even if you don’t follow anime or manga, chances are you’ve heard of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece - having gotten its start in 1997 and still going strong today, this long-running tale of the Straw Hat crew’s far-reaching, seafaring adventures in piracy has blossomed into one of Japan’s most popular exports. With such wide...

  • Review Phonics Fun with Biff, Chip & Kipper: Vol. 2 (3DS)

    The next step

    While your little one may be performing well in school, when learning to read there are those tricky hurdles that manage to trip up countless a child. It is those troublesome times that are covered in Phonics Fun with Biff, Chip & Kipper : Volume 2. Featuring the characters from the Oxford Reading Tree curriculum books your child...

  • Review Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (3DS)

    A rousing encore

    When Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy arrived in the Summer of 2012 it was an entertaining, brilliantly constructed celebration of the venerated Square Enix franchise. It combined a charming aesthetic, plenty of content through its music pieces and a simple, functional control scheme. A little over two years later we have Theatrhythm...

  • Review Phonics Fun with Biff, Chip & Kipper: Vol. 1 (3DS)

    Learning with friends

    Every parent wants the best for their child, but sadly trying to coax them away from their toys and towards something educational can be a feat of itself, especially with young children. Phonics Fun with Biff, Chip & Kipper: Volume 1 features characters from the Oxford Reading Tree curriculum books in a title that they will...

  • Review LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids (3DS)

    Cyberpunk ninja bricks

    It's a new month, which means that the team behind the ever-popular LEGO games has a new release to share with the world. Rather than building a game based off of a popular book or film series, the latest addition to the LEGO pantheon is based on the company's own Ninjago universe. Acting somewhat as a sequel to 2011's LEGO...

  • Review Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal World Duel Carnival (3DS)

    Is the first 3DS entry a Dark Hole or a Monster Reborn?

    Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh series has a long and successful history in digital form, perhaps never more so than on Nintendo hardware – a relationship that stretches all the way back from the original monochrome Game Boy right up to Zexal World Duel Carnival, which is both the first 3DS Yu-Gi-Oh...

  • Review Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (3DS)

    A decent game in disguise

    After reviewing the absolutely horrid Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark on Wii U, it would be hard to get our hopes up for the 3DS iteration if it weren't for the name on the back of the box. Unlike every other version of the game, Rise of the Dark Spark on 3DS was produced by the handheld experts at WayForward...

  • Review Farming Simulator 14 (3DS)

    More farm than good

    Last summer Farming Simulator 3D trucked its way onto the 3DS, allowing gamers to establish and manage a flourishing agricultural empire on-the-go, without having to get their hands dirty or don a straw hat and suspenders. It was a game that we found to be enjoyable at times, but the omission of any tutorials or guides lent to a...

  • Review How to Train Your Dragon 2 (3DS)

    How to train your dragon 2 do what?!

    Handheld versions of 3D console games are always a tricky task; most of the successful ones avoid straight-up ports that are inevitably inferior to their home console brethren, and instead build the portable iterations from the ground up with 2D handheld gaming in mind. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate did this...

  • Review Pokémon Art Academy (3DS)

    Make Smeargle proud by sketching Fletchling

    Since we first put stylus to touchscreen on the original DS, Nintendo's handhelds have made full use of the unique interface by allowing us to interact with games in a whole new way. Some ideas have worked better than others, but the natural act of scribbling or doodling shapes, in particular, has never...

  • Review Inazuma Eleven GO: Light & Shadow (3DS)

    Shiny new kit

    In Japan, Level-5 is one of the masters at maximising franchises through games — typically on portable systems — and TV shows or films, continually keeping the storyline going and producing regular content. Yo-kai Watch is the current craze, while Professor Layton had some film content to accompany six main-series games and more...

  • Review Tomodachi Life (3DS)

    The meaning of life

    During the many hours you can potentially spend lost within Tomodachi Life, you'll find yourself wondering if this new 3DS outing can actually be called a game in the traditional sense. It's certainly addictive and almost universally appealing thanks to its savvy combination of humour, social sharing and Mii-related activities,...

  • Review Candy Match 3 (3DS)

    How many licks does it take to get to the centre of this game? One.

    Start Candy Match 3 up and its cheery-looking title screen greets you with… complete silence. Your ears may pick up nothing, but your soul should be hearing the dire warning screeched out by the very void: abandon all hopes of creative or original effort, ye who enter here!...

  • Review Cut the Rope: Triple Treat (3DS)

    Triple the fun and no strings attached

    The Cut the Rope franchise may have risen to fame through its release on the Apple App Store, but it has also had a pretty prominent history on Nintendo’s most recent handheld systems, too. The first game in the series was originally ported to DSiWare back in 2011, before returning again on the 3DS eShop last...

  • Review LEGO The Hobbit (3DS)

    Barrel full of mediocrity

    It doesn’t take an analyst to know that the entertainment industry loves a good trend, and one current example is to find a hugely popular work of fiction, turn it into a big-budget film, then let Warner Bros. make a LEGO video game out of it. The works of beloved fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien, of Lord of the Rings and...

  • Review Putty Squad (3DS)

    Putty in your hands

    Putty Squad is a platform game that was originally developed by British developer System 3 for the Amiga in the '90s, but the official release had to wait until 2013, when the Amiga version of the game was rolled out on System 3's website as a Christmas gift. However, the original was actually published in 1994 for the Super...

  • Review Hometown Story (3DS)

    Harvest Merchant

    Released in North America and Japan last year, Hometown Story has now hit European shores at long last, thanks to the efforts of Rising Star Games. You play as a young boy — or girl, if you wish — who takes over a shop in a small town after his grandmother, who previously owned it, passes away. If this sounds in any way similar...

  • Review Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS)

    The pink puff goes for the hat trick

    Kirby, Nintendo’s pink puffball of concentrated cuteness, arrives on 3DS with a big bumper of a package, promising a trifecta of portable happiness. And it’s sure tough to not smile at the game’s chirpy demeanor and cheery world as the little guy floats and bops his way along his first 3DS adventure. But...

  • Review Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS)

    Hard to putt down

    For a slightly out of shape plumber that very rarely seems to do any actual plumbing, Mario sure enjoys plenty of different sports. It remains an integral part of Nintendo's delightfully quirky games catalogue for its mascot and the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom to meet up for various extra-curricular activities, and golf is a...

  • Review Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars (3DS)

    Birth of the cool

    Brought into the world by Spike Chunsoft — of both Danganronpa and StreetPass Battle/Warrior's Way fame — Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars is a delightfully different affair. The generational suffix refers to its pedigree — a single, Japan-only PSP predecessor — but all you need to know about this standalone...

  • Review Disney Magical World (3DS)

    A magical world indeed

    To anyone familiar with the handheld’s lineup, it may seem like a bad business decision to make a life simulation game for the 3DS at this point. Three years into the console's life we've seen two Harvest Moon titles, a Rune Factory game, and The Sims 3. All that, and we haven't even mentioned

  • Review Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)

    A puzzling crossover to be solved

    It's no surprise that the announcement of Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney back in 2012 in Japan caused quite a buzz among keen Nintendo portable gamers. The two franchises typify much of what made the DS a phenomenal success — even if Ace Attorney had its beginnings on Game Boy Advance — by...

  • Review Yoshi's New Island (3DS)

    Dino-lite

    Back in 1995, Yoshi's Island turned heads when it was announced as the successor to the masterful Super Mario World. Appearing to be more of a spin-off than a direct sequel, there was skepticism as to whether such a departure could live up to the Mario name and please fans of the series. Fortunately the unique gameplay mechanics,...

  • Review The LEGO Movie Videogame (3DS)

    Movie Mildness

    Video game tie-ins have been haunting films since the inception of the interactive medium, especially when those films are deemed "kid friendly." Essentially used as a marketing ploy, video games based on motion pictures are usually ill-fated projects that never stood a chance from the very beginning. From Disney cartoons to sci-fi...

  • Review Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! (3DS)

    Size doesn't matter

    D3Publisher, Cartoon Network and WayForward were definitely onto something in Adventure Time: Hey, Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! Though the title was over too soon, it took players all over the Land of Ooo on a true-to-series nonsensical quest using Zelda II-like gameplay, with a top-down overworld and side-scrolling...

  • Review Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks (3DS)

    Extra time

    We're no strangers to dual releases in the Inazuma Eleven series, as it apes the money-spinning convention best seen in the Pokémon franchise; yet Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks adds a third variation at a later release date. For fans of Inazuma Eleven 3 in either of its first two forms this is potentially more of a rather good...

  • Review LEGO Friends (3DS)

    No friend of mine

    Warner Bros. Interactive and Hellbent Games' LEGO Friends is a bad game. There's no nicer way of putting it. A squandered opportunity to make another gaming hit out of a popular LEGO property, LEGO Friends feels like a cynical cash-in designed to provide young gamers with a few minutes of mindless diversion before they request the...

  • Review Disney Frozen: Olaf's Quest (3DS)

    A short and chilling quest

    Those of you that are keen movie buffs will know that Frozen is Disney's latest animated motion picture, and — judging from the enthusiastic critical and commercial reaction — it's fair to say that it has gone down a treat with adults and children alike. Full of lovable characters and boasting a good soundtrack (like...